Things I've learned by age 36

#1- Contentedness and complacency are two completely different words and it actually took me quite a while to find the difference.

#2- Moms don't know everything, it's a constant learning experience and I'll never be perfect, but I'll always strive to do my best, it's all that matters.

#3- Being brave enough to love and trust is one of the scariest things in the world, but also one of the most rewarding.

#4- Worrying is a fact of life, it doesn't make me weak, it makes me human.

#5- Even when everything feels as if it's falling apart, we can and we WILL get through it because things always do get better.

#6- There's nothing more satisfying than time alone, it's not a big "no no", it doesn't mean you are unsocial, it means you need a break and as a mother it's always hard to take time alone without feeling guilty.

#7- You're only as old as you feel.

#8- Don't envy others, it's not worth it because we don't and can't know what their lives are and what they're going through and when we think that someone may have it all, they may just be missing the most important aspects of life, like God and love.

#9- I am not my hair or my weight or my eyeliner. I am my smile, I am my sense of humor and I am ME.

#10- I can and do strive towards living a life of simplicity.

#11- Not everyone is the friend you want them to be, but every single person I've met is someone who has impacted my life in one way or another.

#12- It's alright to cry, it's alright to have a bad day, it's alright to wish for your childhood and for things to be the way they were, to not have responsibility or to have to be the one to make the hard decisions. It's alright.

#13- Tastes change as you get older. I used to love tomatoes and now I can't stand them. I used to love socializing and now I'm a home body. I used to love talking on the phone and now I cringe when it rings. The kind of music I like, the kind of shows I used to watch, they all change and come and go, and I am fine with it.

#14- Take time to tell those you love how you feel, life is too short and you don't want to one day regret not saying it.

#15- People don't change, no matter how much you want them to, so you either learn to accept them for who they are, or you move on.

#16- It's all in the journey and how you get there.

#17- Love yourself, laugh at yourself and accept that you're not perfect....I've learned to embrace my flaws and be ok with them.

#18- Not everyone is going to like you and that's ok.

#19- It's ok to outgrow things, likes and even people, it doesn't make you a bad person.

#20- It's ok to have doubt as long as you don't let it dictate your life.

#21- I have learned that every single thing I've gone through in my past, all the "failures", have become the road map to my life.

#22- I have learned that you either do it, or don't, there is no middle ground.

#23- I have learned to take care of myself, because if I'm not well I can't take care of anyone else.

#24- Laughing is more fun when it’s really, really loud.

#25- Sometimes the love and support you need comes from the most unexpected places.

#26- I have learned that when I married my husband, I married the whole Air Force.

#27- As hard as it is to accept, I've learned that I'm my children's mother above all and not their best friend.

#28- You really can sleep on an air mattress for an indefinite period of time, regardless of how uncomfortable it is. (military moves have taught me that)

#29- We are never alone, even when it may seem we are.

#30- Dancing in the living room is just as fun as dancing in a club.


What have you learned?